Professional Development Guides These free instructional guides, formerly known as the Teaching Modules, were developed by education faculty and professional developers for their colleagues. They can be employed as extension units in existing courses or can be used independently in workshops and meetings. Each guide includes articles, links to video footage, PowerPoint presentations, and class activities. We will update these modules over time, and we welcome your suggestions for future topics and feedback. Mountlake Terrace High School: Eeva Reeder (pictured) developed and implemented an architecture assignment for her geometry students in which they design a school and consult with local experts. Project-Based Learning Professional Development Guide Project-based learning, as with all lessons, requires much preparation and planning. Handhelds Go to Class: Teacher Josh Barron and one of his students often go through the strange-looking rite of "beaming" information to each other. Assessment Professional Development Guide
Vital | Transforming lessons, inspiring learning Thoughts on Leadership, Teaching & Learning - Moving Teaching from ‘Good’ to ‘Excellent’: Part 1 Colleagues Supporting Colleagues Ross McGill, 29th January 2013 on the state of CPD: “CPD can be a gloomy picture in most schools. Inset days, at worst, are one-size-fits-all chalk and talk in the school hall or even self-directed time which we will inevitably be used for marking or planning. At a Spectator ‘Schools Revolution’ conference, Dylan Wiliam summed up the problem: “The standard model of teacher professional development is based on the idea that teachers lack important knowledge. For the last 20 years, most professional development has therefore been designed to address those deficits. I don’t want to play the Ofsted game, but I want my colleagues to have opportunities to develop their teaching, to be able to move to really excellent (or ‘outstanding’ in Ofsted speak) teaching. After Ross Mc Gill’s article, I mwant to develop our in-hiouse training to take CPD forward. 1. This is the only way to share good preactice. t promotes ther sharing of good ideas and practice. 1. 2.
The Technology Learning Cycle The Technology Learning Cycle is a tool that faculty can use to reflect on their own learning about technology. It provides a way to think about how we learn to use new tools and incorporate them into our teaching. The Cycle was developed in the late 1990s at the University of Missouri to help faculty members who were training pre-service teachers in the use of technology. A central premise of this model is that faculty must be lifelong learners with regard to technology. Phases of the technology learning cycle The cycle repeats each time you become aware of a new technology and choose to implement it in the classroom. Bibliography Wedman, J., & Diggs, L. (2001). A tip o’ the hat to Dr. Like this: Like Loading... Related The Allegory of the Scrambled Egg Many tools are available for faculty who want to help students learn more effectively. In "Commentary"
What makes a good teacher as far as technology is concerned? I'm interested in exploring this question, which I have phrased very carefully. I think whether you're a teacher of information and communications technology, or someone who teaches with educational technology, there are some common denominators of what makes the teaching good. These are all my ideas and conjectures; I have stated them as though they are facts purely in order to avoid clumsy circumlocutions. The first requirement is a willingness to experiment and take chances. You never really know whether something is going to work until you try it. For example, I came across a program a few years ago which made commenting on a student's work very easy: it was possible to give comprehensive feedback in only 5 minutes by clicking various buttons. Clearly, it was the sort of 'solution' you may wish to use with one or two special case students, but not with whole classes. Not everything is within the individual teacher's control. A third requirement is for intellectual honesty.
The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education In 2011 — So Far | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... I usually just do a year-end list on Web 2.0 Applications For Education and many other topics, but it gets a little crazy having to review all of my zillion posts at once. So, to make it easier for me — and perhaps, to make it a little more useful to readers — I’m going to start publishing mid-year lists, too. These won’t be ranked, unlike my year-end “The Best…” lists, and just because a site appears on a mid-year list doesn’t guarantee it will be included in an end-of-the-year one. But, at least, I won’t have to review all my year’s posts in December… As usual, in order to make this list, a site had to be: * accessible to English Language Learners and non-tech savvy users. * free-of-charge. * appropriate for classroom use. * completely browser-based with no download required. It’s possible that a few of these sites began in 2010, but, if so, I’m including them in this list because they were “new to me” in 2011. You might want to visit previous editions: Feedback is welcome.
How Does #Edchat Connect Educators August 7, 2012 by tomwhitby For educators who have been connected since the early days of social media, it is difficult to understand the reason people would ask, “What is #Edchat?” We must remember that many educators using social media for professional reasons have joined only recently. The idea of using social media for professional reasons is a relatively new concept. One would hope that it is having a positive effect because the Department of Education declared August Connected Educators Month. #Edchat began on Twitter three years ago. The popularity of Twitter for many is a result of its simplicity: Tweets are limited to 140 characters, so the writer isn’t required to say much. Shelly Terrell (@ShellTerrell), Steven Anderson (@web20classroom) and I (@tomwhitby) created such a chat to focus on topics for educators. The power of the hashtag was still developing in those days. There are about 70 education chats working for specific focuses. Like this: Like Loading...
Increases Engagement Communicating in 140-character segments may seem to contradict the goals of generally long-winded academia, but a new study has found that the two are less opposed than one might think. Students in the study who were asked to contribute to class discussions and complete assignments using Twitter increased their engagement over a semester more than twice as much as a control group. The study used a 19-question survey based on the National Survey of Student Engagement to measure student engagement at the beginning and end of a seminar course for first year students in pre-health professional programs. Four sections (70 students) were given assignments and discussions that incorporated Twitter, such as tweeting about their experiences on a job shadow day or commenting on class readings. Three sections (55 students) did the same assignments and had access to the same information, but didn't use Twitter.
Is CALL outdated? Through both my own interest and the influence of my MA course, I’ve been sending out prompts for dialogue on Twitter, on Facebook and in my office regarding the integration of technology in our classes in terms of the familiar (and purportedly outdated) abbreviation CALL (Computer-assisted language learning), which has been met with a polarised set of opinions. Feel free to chime in. My desire for discussion stems from the Bax article, “CALL – Past, Present and Future” (2003), which responds to CALL’s phases put forth by Warschauer & Healey’s “Computers and language learning: An overview” (1998) and develops the concept of technology’s normalisation in the language learning classroom. This discussion is by no means new1, but maybe we’ve been discussing what’s not practical at this point. So integrated into daily life that we don’t consider it special (Source: The New Yorker, 2011) But first, I think it’s warranted to summarise one of Bax’s points. 1984 was a big year for computers
7 Essential multimedia tools and their free alternatives Why spend money on expensive multimedia tools when you can use comparable alternatives for free? They may not be an exact replacement, but how can you argue with the price? PHOTO EDITING: PhotoshopFree: Splashup Photoshop may be the industry leader when it comes to photo editing and graphic design, but Splashup, a free online tool, has many of the same capabilities at a much cheaper price. WEB DESIGN: DreamweaverFree: KompoZer Looking to create your next web site without paying big money for programs like Dreamweaver? VIDEO: Final Cut, Adobe PremiereFree: iMovie, JayCut Many video editors, both novice and professional, use iMovie to create professional-looking videos and an amateur price. AUDIO: ProTools, Adobe AuditionFree: Audacity, GarageBand Audacity is a comprehensive audio editor with many of the capabilities of its costly competitors. SLIDESHOWS: SoundslidesFree: PhotoPeach INTERACTIVE MEDIA: FlashFree: Effect Generator
The 10 Skills Modern Teachers Must Have The above image is 8.5×11″ so you can print it out. PDF is available here . There’s been a lot of talk about 21st century learners, 21st century teachers, and connected classrooms. There’s a daily influx of new technology into your inbox and your classroom feels woefully behind the times even if you’re flipping your 1:1 iPad classroom that’s already online and part of a MOOC . What are modern teachers to do with all this jargon and techno-babble being thrown at them all day long? Simple. In my experience, I’ve seen teachers attempt to integrate 30 iPads into their classroom by handing them out and then trying to figure out which apps are worth using. In order to do this, you’ll need skills modern teachers must have. 1) Build Your PLN Whether you call it a ‘personal learning network’ or a ‘professional learning network’ is not important. 2) Establish Real Relationships Whether it’s online or offline, the ability to establish real relationships is critical to any modern teacher. 7) Slow Down
eLearning 4 Life Lessons from the past, lessons for the future: 20 years of CALL Links checked 19 April 2012 This article was written in late 1996 and published as a chapter in Korsvold A-K. & Rüschoff B. (1997) (eds.) New technologies in language learning and teaching, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France, ISBN 92-871-3255-0. Inevitably, an article like this dates very quickly and there are many revisions in this Web version. Lesson No. 1 focuses on the importance of ongoing training. Lesson No. 2 is full of warnings about regarding technology as the panacea. Lesson No. 3 on choosing the right hardware is less relevant now than it was in the 1990s. Lesson No. 4: I was a bit hard on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Lesson No. 5 focuses on the importance of new ideas - still as valid as ever. Lesson No. 6: I was probably a bit too harsh about "Doing it yourself", as new authoring tools have made life a lot easier for the teacher who wishes to create his/her own learning materials. Lesson No. 7: The Internet has changed immeasurably since this article was written. i. ii.